X-ray waveguide

Abstract

An X-ray waveguide which: shows a small propagation loss of an X-ray; does not deteriorate owing to oxidation; and can be easily produced is realized with an X-ray waveguide, including: a core for guiding an X-ray in such a wavelength band that the real part of refractive index of materials is 1 or less; and a cladding for confining the X-ray in the core, in which: the cladding has a one-dimensional periodic structure consisting of at least two materials having different real parts of refractive index; one of the materials is inorganic one, and another one of materials is any of an organic material, a gas, or vacuum; and the core and the cladding are formed so that the critical angle for total reflection at the interface between the core and the cladding is smaller than a Bragg angle depending on the periodicity of the one-dimensional periodic structure.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]1. Field of the Invention[0002]The present invention relates to an X-ray waveguide, in particular, an X-ray waveguide used in an X-ray optical system, for example, in an X-ray analysis technology, an X-ray imaging technology, or an X-ray exposure technology.[0003]2. Description of the Related Art[0004]When an electromagnetic wave having a short wavelength of several tens of nanometers or less is dealt with, a difference in refractive index for any such electromagnetic wave between different materials is extremely small, specifically, 10−4 or less, and thus, for example, a critical angle for total reflection becomes extremely smaller. In view of the foregoing, a large-scale spatial optical system is usually used for controlling such an electromagnetic wave including an X-ray. Among the main components of which the spatial optical system is formed, multilayer mirrors obtained by alternately laminating materials having different refractive indices are p...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention provides an X-ray waveguide that has a small propagation loss of X-ray, does not deteriorate due to oxidation, and can be easily produced. The waveguide includes a core for guiding an X-ray and a cladding for confining the X-ray in the core. The cladding has a one-dimensional periodic structure consisting of at least two different materials having different real parts of refractive index. The core and the cladding are formed so that a critical angle for total reflection at the interface between the core and the cladding is smaller than a Bragg angle depending on the periodicity of the one-dimensional periodic structure.

Problems solved by technology

H03-146909, however, it is difficult to produce a core region having such a small diameter that an independent waveguide mode of an X-ray is formed or to uniformly form a laminated film of a cladding on the outer periphery of the fiber.

In addition, since an inorganic material that absorbs the X-ray to a large extent is used in the cladding, the propagation loss of the X-ray increases.

Further, the oxidation of the inorganic material may cause the deterioration or structural change of the waveguide.

In addition, a labor and time is required for the step of laminating those materials to show sufficient reflectance.

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